field of dog treats. Consumers love to treat their dogs to a natural healthy
treat or chew,” she explains.

Ahdee Abramson, president of Pet Ventures Inc. in North Hollywood,Calif., agrees. “Consumers are going to continue to spend their hard-earned dollars on pet treats and continue to treat their pets with love andhappiness. Consumers have shown their commitment to their dogs andwant to give them natural treats,” he says, noting that his company addedNatural Beef Lung Steaks and Natural Beef Lung Chunx treats for dogsunder its Pet ‘nShape brand.One of theinnovations,Abramson says,is that naturaltreats are avail-able at pricepoints rangingfrom value topremium, to ac-commodate awide variety ofconsumers. Thatis one of sev-eral factors that will help the category continue to grow.“Natural is still the word consumers are looking for,” hesays. “It’s a category that seems to have more growth init especially as the human market continues to grow, thatobviously transitions to pet.”Consumers also want simplicity, says Bo Nelson, presi-dent and founder of WholesalePet.com in Richmond, Va.“The natural, single-ingredient treats have gotten verypopular,” he says. “People don’t want additives in the natu-ral treat market.”Pet owners are also looking for variety, says Nelson.And treats sourced from unusual proteins such as codskins, duck feet, kangaroo and crocodile are gaining inpopularity.

Of course, made in the USA and sourced in USA
are still important product features in the treat category.

“There has been pushback on anything from China,” he
says. “Ten years ago, we saw a lot of dried chicken from
China, but now most of the dried chicken is from the U.S.”

In 2016, Wholesalepet.com, a business-to-business
marketplace with about 350 suppliers, launched its own
product into the treat category—GIVE Treats, which contain no wheat, corn or soy and are available in three vegan flavors: Peanut Butter, Pizza Crust and Sweet Potato.

Pet owners are also
looking for variety.

Treats sourced from
unusual proteins such
as cod skins, duck
feet, kangaroo and
crocodile are gaining
in popularity.